In a moving speech brimming with optimism, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on 24 October 2018, “I believe that the new Europe will be in the Middle East.”
He proceeded to enumerate the reforms that were gaining momentum in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Qatar, even though it was at loggerheads with the others.
He also spoke of the reform processes in Egypt and Iraq and the march of progress across the Arab region. If you watched this speech on YouTube or a similar platform, you would recall how the crown prince thumped his chest and said, “This is my war... I will work to achieve its goals until my dying day.”
Tracking the progress underway in many Arab countries may seem to jar with the dust and din of strife and conflict that engulfs this region. However, despite the adversity — from terrorism and Covid-19 to the recent wars — the net result of developments over the past seven years has been remarkably positive.
This applies in particular to the Arab geography and demography that have seen new cities and infrastructures sprout across vast tracts of land. Bold and ambitious national projects have connected desert inlands with seas, fostered agriculture and modern industries, and strengthened Arab political and economic ties. Meanwhile, the increased speed and efficiency of the Suez Canal has contributed to creating a space of shared prosperity along the shores of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
The Arab region now appears at the threshold of a new, “historic” phase of comprehensive progress, following President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the Gulf. While the agenda featured geo-political issues commensurate with this region’s critical condition, geo-economic initiatives dominated. Thus, while one level involves great strides in security and military capabilities, another seeks to propel the region into the realm of the fourth industrial and technological revolution.
The dream of catching up with the advanced West has captured this region’s imagination since the 19th century, when Khedive Ismail declared his hope to make Egypt a part of Europe. That declaration, which followed an initiative of sending 324 students from Al-Azhar to Europe on an education mission, marked the region’s first steps towards modernity. Yet in the end we never reached Europe’s doorstep. During recent decades, hundreds of thousands of Arabs, especially from the Gulf, have travelled to Europe and the US in pursuit of knowledge. Perhaps this is part of the source of the crown prince’s confident speech, another part being advances that have significantly expanded the region’s material and intellectual capacities.
In truth, the pursuit of development and progress is a strong driver behind what has been termed “the new Arabism”. This is not the same as the Arabism that prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s. The new Arabism is informed by contemporary global developments in a world at a far remove from the one that saw the colonial era, the post-independence era, the Cold War, the détente, and globalisation. Among the most salient features of the current world is competitiveness among major powers from the US, China and Europe to emerging players, such as India and Brazil.
In this space I have often mentioned that Europe’s modern renaissance came after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, followed by the establishment of the Concert of Europe — a treaty that included Britain, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia. This paved the way to domestic reform in these countries. It was driven by the industrial revolution at home and colonisation abroad, leading to the division and partitioning of non-European territories in Asia and Africa. That European pact has its contemporary counterpart in the European Union, which aims to prevent war and promote progress in fields like nuclear energy and, today, artificial intelligence.
The idea that the Arab world could lay the foundations of a new Europe in the Middle East is not far-fetched. The achievements of the comprehensive reform programmes that are underway in many Arab states demand a “new Arabism” — one that not only embodies cultural unity but also serves as a platform to ward off wars whose fires have been stoked by the so-called Arab Spring on the one hand, and rapid technological development on the other.
Progress of the sort that can prevent division and resolve conflict now rests on the shoulders of those states that chose reform, stability, and peace as their path to the future. This is the path that also generates enough interdependence in production and markets to create the space for integration between countries united by a shared civilisation.
What is needed now is deep thought and rigorous study.
First, we must intellectually take stock of the achievements made in the past decade and what still needs to be done in the next five years. Second, we must forge new forms of cooperation and mutual benefit, particularly in the fields of science and technology. And, third, we must explore the comparative advantages of each participating Arab country, so all the combined assets can be effectively harnessed and maximised.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 29 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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